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JOURNALISTS WELCOME ACCESS TO INFORMATION BILL

ARTICLE 19 and the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Mozambique (MISA) have welcomed a draft bill that gives citizens in the country the right to obtain information held by public authorities. After five years of consultations, the government has introduced the draft Law of Mozambique on Access to Official Sources of Information that press freedom advocates hope will pave the way towards greater transparency and government accountability.

According to MISA, the new law will help tackle corruption - an issue that has plagued the government in recent years. Despite laws which explicitly require ministers to declare their earnings, many are reluctant to do so. If the draft bill becomes law - which is expected to take place in the next two years - it will strengthen democracy and lead to greater participation of civil society, says MISA.

Journalists in Mozambique have long accused the government of stonewalling attempts to get official information, reports IRIN News. "Journalists have so many problems accessing official information. I have been told to put questions in writing and only after doing that am I given the interview, which is far too late for the story", says Palmira Velasco, former editor of the independent weekly newspaper "Demos".

ARTICLE 19 says the draft law is a good first step but it needs improvement. It does not provide for an independent body to supervise implementation and it does not protect whistleblowers. It also lacks provisions to combat the culture of secrecy within the government.

ARTICLE 19 has produced a legal analysis of the draft law, which includes recommendations for strengthening it: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/analysis/mozambique-july-2005.pdf

The process of finalising the draft bill has proved to be long and difficult, says MISA. Previous drafts had failed to include a provision for legal action to be taken against officials who refused to provide information. A spokesperson for the ministry of justice said the document was under review and legal advisors were expected to comment at a later stage.

Visit:
- IRIN: http://tinyurl.com/dvq39
- MISA: http://www.misa.org/mozambique.html
- ARTICLE 19: http://www.article19.org
- Committee to Protect Journalists Report on Mozambique: http://www.cpj.org/attacks04/africa04/moz.html
- The Case of Murdered Journalist Carlos Cardoso: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2002/Cardoso_nov02/cardoso_nov02.html